If you still can't find a working torrent for H&M, you can always pick one of those torrents that has all EPs and SPs and download only the file you need. You can select which files you want to download and which to skip in your torrent client.

Predictably enough, date/outing gifts and apartments don't play well together. Gifts are dropped off in the common area, and then can't be moved/sold from buy mode.
So now I have an expensive telescope that not only takes up a lot of space, but can't be used by anyone because it's placed right next to a pool. /whine

I've done this several times on all the OFB benches since installing FT and 40+ items seems to be the norm for the first badge. I always started with the associated skill maxed out as well, so that wasn't an issue.
The missing tulips option does sound like borkage, though.

Eh, sorry if I'm saying something which is already obvious, but do you have the appropriate crack? There is one for plain old FT and a different one for the patched FT. They can both be found on gamecopyworld.com (the patched one is version 1.1). I haven't personally tried patching the game and using this, so you should take it with a pinch of salt, coming from me.
But it seems that installing BV is a separate issue altogether and whether the game works or not depends solely on the latest thing that you should have installed going by the EA timeline.
*tiptoes out of thread just in case*

Well, as long as there are kittens in your username. I do have standards, you know.

*feels bad about spamming teh seriuos forums*: So have you installed it yet? I need to know this so I can make my escape from the thread should something bad happen.

Fact: this forum is mad about cats. That's okay, I still love you, Asskitten  .

Yup, it's the latest EP that matters. I've done this exact same thing (installing BV after FT, both of them Arrr'd) and had no problems at all. The NoCD crack that (I assume) you used for FT should work just as fine after you've installed BV.

PS: I reckon my (whole) 4 posts don't give me a lot of credibility, but I really would have noticed if my game had exploded.

That's so sad :/ . No wonder the poor thing needs four locked wants.

Oh, come on. Every release date (patches included) is like April 1st to EA. They're just such jokers when it comes to taking people's money for things they can't actually deliver.